With the deadline for this year’s Security Serious Unsung Heroes nominations rapidly approaching, our Gurus spoke to Christine Gordon-Bennett, Manager Cybersecurity Awareness at Nedbank, who was last year’s winner of the Wellbeing Advocate Award. We asked her about the importance of leading by example, what she’s been up to in the year since her win, and what makes a good wellbeing advocate.
Why is it important that cybersecurity leaders take a stance on wellbeing?
Gordon-Bennett says: “It’s important for leaders to recognise the pressures people have been, and continue to be, under. Stress factors like remote working, financial difficulties due to a struggling economy, crime, the power crisis and some crazy weather conditions have had a huge impact on employee’s wellbeing and their mental health.”
She continues: “As you know, when you’re stressed, you aren’t thinking clearly, you battle to pay attention and easily make mistakes. Talking to employees and acknowledging what they are going through goes a long way to gaining their trust and getting them to listen to what you have to say. By getting them to understand WHY they make mistakes, i.e. clicking on a malicious link in an email because it triggered an emotional reaction, is a great way to teach them about social engineering and how fraudsters trick us with their scams.”
“At the end of the day, if employees feel that their wellbeing matters to the organisation, their levels of engagement will increase with you as a leader.”
Since her win, Gordon-Bennett hasn’t stopped championing wellbeing. In fact, she’s continued to be a trailblazer for wellbeing ..
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